Autism 101: Early intervention is key to helping autistic children to succeed

Experts and most people engaged with the autism community agree that one of the best ways to help a child on the autism spectrum to succeed is through early intervention.

Early intervention with ASD allows for a foundation of success
The sooner children are diagnosed and any medical, emotional, behavioral, sensory and other issues are discovered, the sooner a treatment plan and strategies for managing those difficulties can be put into place. However, often training and a keen eye for observation are required to detect autism disorders in children under the age of 2 or 3.

Early warning signs of autism disorders
Some early warning signs include but are not limited to:

• Avoidance of or limitation of eye contact. Some children on the spectrum are able to make eye contact but can't or won't hold it. Many children with autism are not able to make eye contact at all or actively avoid it.
• Hand flapping and other tics. These can show up very early, but may be confused with normal baby reflexes, such as the startle reflex. Around the year mark, however, when a baby is usually able to sit well and walk, flapping hands in front of the body often, especially if it doesn't seem to be deliberate can be a sign of autistic hand-flapping and a screening by a professional can help, not only to determine if intervention is needed, but to ease parental fears.
• Stalled speech development. The child begins with single words on time around the one year mark, but never progresses to making sentences longer than two words for example.
• Lack of speech development. By age two, most children are able to use single words and it can be worth it to take your child in for a hearing evaluation and speech evaluation if single words haven't started by this age. If your child is evaluated by a speech pathologist, he/she may be able to pick up on some signs of autism as well and if you have a feeling that these might be present, don't hesitate to ask questions or for references or referrals.
• Frequent, lengthy tantrums of more than a half hour duration. Often tantrums are mistaken for typical toddler behavior from age one to three, however, tantrums that happen more than once or twice a day and last more than a half hour are not typical behavior, especially if those tantrums turn violent almost every time.
• High sensitivity. These may include sensitivities to hot and cold, textures, flavors, smells, sounds and other input from all five senses that just seems to be 'too much' for your child. For example, if your baby seems disturbed instead of soothed by a lullabye, this can be an early warning sign, though it's usually just something to keep in mind and keep tabs on as your baby grows older. Kids who don't tolerate tags, seams in socks, wool, acrylic and so on often have some form of sensory processing disorder that may also be a part of a wider spectrum disorder.
• Distractibility and hyper-focusing. Confusing as it can sometimes be, kids that are very distractible but then also hyper-focus on an activity may be on the spectrum. They key seems to be swinging back and forth between high levels of both behaviors, with a child jumping from activity to activity quickly and then settling down with a specific one to the exclusion of all else.

Videos can help to identify early warning signs of autism
Autism Speaks provides an online ASD Video Glossary that can be very helpful with understanding the differences in behavior between neurotypical children and children on the spectrum. The site shows infants and toddlers with some older children engaging in different activities. Side-by-side videos are shown with the expected, or typical child on one side and an ASD child on the other so that parents can more easily compare and contrast the differences of behavior and figure out if an evaluation is needed.

A free logon must be created to access the videos and your computer needs to have the right browser plugins installed. The site prompts users through the first logon and download of any necessary plugins to view the videos.

A search on YouTube for "videos of autistic children" also pulls up a wide range of videos that can help with identifying signs of autism early.

Contact early intervention or intermediate unit programs for help
For help with detecting early warning signs in the greater Philadelphia area, touch base with your local school district's early intervention program, or contact your Intermediate Unit. If you have Medical Assistance or CHIP, you may also call your MA/CHIP help line to get a referral to an evaluating care provider. Make sure that your referral is to a pediatric behavioral specialist, a psychiatrist or psychologist who specializes in pediatrics and autism spectrum disorders. The state of Pennsylvania's Bureau of Autism Services (BAS) can also be a good starting point for finding local resources for early detection.